Know exactly what you are buying
300 pearl and jewellery terms, each one linked to a piece you can hold.
Where would you like to begin?
Types of Pearl
Freshwater, saltwater, South Sea, keshi, and how to tell a real pearl from a coated bead.
Shapes
Round, baroque, drop, coin and the rest, and what each one is worth paying for.
Quality & Grading
What AAA actually means, plus lustre, nacre, orient and the claims to be sceptical of.
Size & Length
Millimetres, choker to rope, bangle sizing, and which length suits which neckline.
Jewellery Styles
Jhumka, mangalsutra, kundan, polki, temple work and the rest of the Indian vocabulary.
Gold & Hallmarking
Karat versus carat, 22K and 18K, 916, plating, vermeil and what a BIS hallmark proves.
Gemstones & Cuts
Ruby, emerald, sapphire and zircon, their Indian names, and the cuts from princess to cabochon.
Metals & Plating
925 silver, platinum, brass and the alloys and finishes a piece is actually built from.
Clasps & Construction
Clasps, knotting, drilling and settings, the parts that decide whether a piece survives.
Care & Authenticity
Storing pearls, the tooth test, restringing, and the astrological terms buyers ask about.
Buying & Value
Making charges, wastage, gold rate, GST, buyback and what a piece is actually worth.
Buying & Value
1–17 of 17
Buyback
What a jeweller will pay to take a piece back. Almost always based on metal content alone.
Certification Labs
Independent gemmological laboratories that identify and grade stones and pearls. The name on the report is what gives it weight.
Digital Gold
Buying gold by value rather than by piece, held in a vault on your behalf and redeemable in coins or jewellery.
Fixed Price
One price for the finished piece, with no separate metal, labour and tax lines. Standard for pearl and fashion jewellery.
Gold Rate
The day's price of gold per gram at a stated purity. The base every gold bill is built on.
Gold Savings Scheme
A monthly instalment plan run by a jeweller, redeemed against jewellery, often with a bonus instalment at the end.
GST on Jewellery
Goods and Services Tax on jewellery in India: 3% on the value of the piece, plus 5% on making charges.
Hank
The wholesale unit for loose pearls: several temporarily strung strands tied together, usually ten to a hank.
Karigar
The craftsman who actually makes the jewellery, usually working for the jeweller rather than for the customer.
Making Charges
What you pay for craftsmanship on top of the metal, charged either per gram or as a percentage.
Parcel
A quantity of loose stones sold together, folded into a paper, priced as a group rather than individually.
Per Gram Pricing
Pricing a piece on what it weighs, at the day's rate for its purity, plus labour. The traditional gold model.
Ratti
The traditional Indian unit for gemstone weight, taken in today's trade as about 0.91 carat, or roughly 180 milligrams.
Resale Value
What a piece fetches when sold on. For most jewellery it is the metal value, with the craftsmanship written off.
Tola
A traditional South Asian weight, about 11.66 grams. Still used in conversation, rarely on the bill.
Valuation
An independent written assessment of what a piece is worth, usually for insurance rather than for sale.
Wastage
An extra percentage added to the gold weight to cover metal lost during manufacture. Often charged even when no metal is lost.